This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

‘Dedicated team’ to look into two missing men near Church and Wellesley: Toronto police

Andrew Kinsman, 49, was last seen June 26, and Selim Esen, 44, was last seen April 14.

Selim Esen, 44, was last seen in April. (TORONTO POLICE HANDOUT)

Andrew Kinsman, 49, has been missing for about a month. He was last seen at 71 Winchester St. (Toronto Police Service)

By Laura HowellsStaff Reporter

Fri., July 28, 2017

While Toronto police say they’re not linking the disappearance this year of two men near the Church and Wellesley area, they announced Friday a “dedicated team” to focus on solving both cases.

Andrew Kinsman, 49, was last seen June 26, and Selim Esen, 44, was last seen April 14.

Police are treating both cases as suspicious and say their disappearances are out of character.

There’s currently no evidence that the cases are connected or that foul play was involved, police said. However, officers will be running “parallel investigations” so that they can share information. Officers assigned to these investigations will be taken off their other caseloads.

“It allows the investigators to dedicate their time and resources to solving these cases,” said police spokesperson Meaghan Gray, who said they “can’t exclude the possibility” the cases might be connected.

Article Continued Below

Gray said officers are also working with a homicide investigator to review information.

Three men linked to the Church and Wellesley community were also reported missing between 2010 and 2012, and never found. Police said they haven’t found a connection to these older cases, but are not ruling out that possibility.

A community town hall has been planned for Tuesday to discuss “growing concerns over Toronto’s missing 2LGBTQA* individuals.” Police from the team will be attending the meeting, taking place at The 519 community centre.

Organizer Greg Downer said the town hall will be a place for people to discuss their concerns and talk about ways to prevent future disappearances. Downer, who’s been actively involved in the search efforts for Kinsman, said he wants to create infrastructure to support others with missing loved ones.

“Andrew (Kinsman) was well connected to the community, so the response has been overwhelming,” Downer said. “But there’s a lot of people who just don’t have that.”

addressingcommunity concerns that Kinsman’s disappearance is linked to 11 other missing men.

Richmond said that connecting the disappearances is “not factually correct” and is “misleading,” as five of the men were found alive and a sixth has died. He noted that police have not ruled out a possible connection to the three men who went missing between 2010 and 2012.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) said police needed to be clearer and more consistent in their communication, to avoid false information from spreading. Wong-Tam said that the investigative team and police statement is a “welcome step.”

“In the absence of clear information from the police, obviously there was some social media chatter and people were starting to worry,” she said.

Esen was last seen near Bloor and Yonge Sts. He was “quite familiar” with the Church and Wellesley area, police said, and frequents the Ted Rogers Way area. Police described Esen as being 5’10” and 150 lbs, with brown eyes, brown hair and a full beard. Police said he was “often in possession of a silver suitcase with wheels.”

Richard Harrop, who’s been friends with Esen for roughly three years, describes him as a good and loving person, with a “big heart.” Harrop said Esen was originally from Turkey.

Kinsman was last seen at 71 Winchester St. where he’s superintendant of the building near Wellesley and Parliament Sts.

Kinsman is described as 6’4” and 220 lbs, with brown hair and a full beard. Police say he has a tattoo on his right arm with the word “Queer” and another tattoo “with an expletive on the right side of his chest.”

Police say both men were active on dating apps.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com